What Happens in Hospitals
by Quaggy
Summary: AU set right before Season 7. Josh has been in a car crash. Josh is now on pain medication. Brave girl that she is, Donna is still trying to have a conversation with him. Set after Left Waiting.


Title: What Happens in Hospitals  
Rating: PG  
Originally published: April 13th, 2006  
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters or this show. Not even a little.  
Notes: I had wanted to write something light for the time in between _Election Day Part II_ and _Requiem_. So, I set this in a hospital. I'm still not sure how that works. Originally, I wrote this piece so that you could place it wherever you wanted in the West Wing timeline…as long as its during the campaign trail or the first few years of the Santos Administration. I later decided that it didn't work. So, about a year later, I wrote a prequel called "Left Waiting", making this fic an AU set right before the start of Season 7.

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When Josh woke up, she was sitting by his bed, tense and determined. It wasn't the caring, nurturing Donna, he was used to seeing in situations like these. This was political operative Donna, who could move mountains if she wanted to.

"Hey… Where am I?"

"The hospital," she replied as she moved closer.

"Oh. That's not good."

"Do you remember anything?"

"Umm… Accident. I was in a car accident."

"Yes."

"I broke my leg?"

"Yes."

"Anything else?"

"Well, the doctors are not very optimistic. It looks like you'll never be a professional ballerina."

"Heh. I guess I'll just have to find a new profession," he replied as he let his eyes sink close and enjoyed the wave. "These are really good drugs."

"I made sure they gave you only the best."

"Thank you. I appreciate that."

"Josh, we should get married."

"Ok," he replied and then opened one eye and then the other to look at her. "They didn't give you any of the good drugs too, did they?"

"No."

"Ok," He replied and closed his eyes again. "Did you think I'd say no?"

"What?"

"Did you ask me when I was high on the good drugs because you thought I'd say no?"

"No."

"Really?"

"Yes. After spending three hours arguing with the idiotic hospital staff, only to be allowed to see you after I pitched a royal fit, I realized that saying 'Take me to Josh Lyman. He's my husband.' would be much easier."

"Ok, that's a good reason to get married."

"Thank you."

"But we should get married because we love each other," he said, opening his eyes again.

"Josh, I do love you."

"I know. I love you too. We got lots of reasons to get married. But "because we love each other" is the one we should use" he told her with that earnest look that always made her melt.

But before she could reply, a efficient knock came at the door, which was opened by a Secret Service agent to reveal Matt Santos. Donna moved to get up, but he motioned her to be still before she could even start to rise.

"Hiya, Matt!" Josh beamed.

"You alright there, Josh?" Santos replied, taken aback at his unusual behavior. He tried to remember the last time Josh called him by his first name. Maybe back when he was still Bartlet's Deputy Chief of Staff… or was it always "Congressman" even then?

"Yup, they gave me the good drugs!"

"Apparently."

"Donna and I are engaged!"

"Really?" This was surprising news and he glanced at the woman in question to gauge her reactions on this announcement, but all he could read was mild amusement. Josh, when he wasn't drugged out of his mind, was much better at knowing what was going through Donna's mind than his boss was.

"Well, not yet," Josh clarified. "Because if we get engaged now people will blame to good drugs and we don't want them to blame to good drugs. I mean they're already going to make fun of me because Donna asked me… Actually, you didn't ask me. You told me."

"Should I have gotten down on one knee?"

"No, you're always telling me to do stuff. You never ask. It makes sense. Hey, do you want me to be the one to ask you when there no good drugs anymore?" he asked as if the thought had just occurred to him.

"Do you want to be the one to ask?"

"Naw, I don't care. But I will, if you want me to."

"Why don't why just say we asked each other?"

"'Kay. You'll come to the wedding?" he asked. Santos, who had sat down during their proposal banter, started to wonder just how powerful those drugs were until he realized that Josh had directed this last part to him.

"I wouldn't miss it," he replied lightly.

"I'm tired," Josh announced suddenly.

"Then go to sleep," Donna replied.

"'Kay. We gotta wait until I get out of the hospital before we ask each other," he said, sleepily. "It can't happen in a hospital. Only bad things happen in a hospital."

"Sometimes good things happen in hospitals," Donna said gently, stroking his hair, all traces of political operative Donna now gone. When it was clear that Josh had indeed fallen asleep, Santos rose to leave.

"How much of this will he remember?" he whispered.

"All of it."

"Will he be alright?"

"Yes. I lost a few years off my life, but he'll be fine."

"Will you be alright?"

"Yes. Thank you for coming, sir."

"Babies!" Josh cried, disturbing the stillness of the room.

"What!?"

"Babies!! Those are the good things that happen in hospitals!"

Turing to leave again, Santos smiled as Donna soothed Josh back to sleep. But he felt like crying when, right before his agent closed the door behind him, when he heard her whisper:

"Those aren't the only good things that happen in hospitals."


End file.
